The present invention relates in general to a system for moving a headrest assembly of a vehicle seat upward and forward in the event of a rear impact, and more particularly to a locking mechanism for such a system.
Improvements in safety mechanisms in the automotive industry continue to be made year after year. One example of such a safety mechanism includes a safety headrest as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,378,043 to Viano et al.
Headrests are provided to support the head of an occupant during a collision. However, in a rear impact, a vehicle seat occupant may be driven rearwardly to exert a reaction force on the vehicle seat back. The occupant""s lower torso generally exerts more force or load initially on the seat back than the occupant""s shoulder region. This initial load applied by the occupant""s lower torso may cause the seat back to be deflected rearwardly. As the seat back moves rearwardly, separation between the headrest cushion of the vehicle headrest and an occupant""s head may increase.
In an attempt to reduce such separation, active headrest mechanisms have been proposed in which the occupant""s torso applies a rearward load to an impact target in the vehicle seat. The impact target is connected to the headrest cushion and causes the headrest cushion to move forward upon application of a rearward load on the impact target. The headrest cushion moves forward toward the head of the occupant to reduce the separation or gap between the occupant""s head and the headrest cushion during a collision.
This invention relates to an improved vehicle seat and headrest assembly. The vehicle seat and headrest assembly includes a seatback frame. A headrest assembly is provided and has a cushion portion and an impact target. The headrest assembly is rotatably connected to the seatback frame, wherein a rearward force applied upon the impact target causes the cushion portion to rotate forwardly. A headrest assembly biasing to member is operatively connected to the headrest assembly and the seatback frame and biases the headrest assembly against rotational movement. A locking mechanism is operatively connected to the headrest assembly and the seatback frame. The locking mechanism is movable between an unlocked position wherein the headrest assembly is permitted to rotate, and a locked position wherein the headrest assembly is prevented from rotating.